Northwestern University Athletics
Finally, Women's Volleyball Has Come Back to Evanston!
9/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 13, 2000
NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Hosts Hampton Inn & Suites Wildcat Classic
September 15-16
CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept. 15
Cleveland State vs. Buffalo, 4:30 p.m.
NORTHWESTERN vs. Towson, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 16
Towson State vs. Cleveland State, 9:30 a.m.
NORTHWESTERN vs. Buffalo, Noon
Buffalo vs. Towson State, 4:30 p.m.
NORTHWESTERN vs. Cleveland State, 7 p.m.
Northwestern returns home from a 12-day road trip and is looking for its first win of the season. The Wildcats are 0-7 entering this weekend's competition. Last weekend, NU fell to Creighton (1-3), Oregon (1-3) and No. 6 Hawai'i (0-3) at the Wahine Challenge in Honolulu. The Wildcats have faced an uphill schedule, as three of their seven opponents this season are ranked in the nation's top 4. NU will host Buffalo, Cleveland State and Towson this weekend.
HAWAI'I MATCH RECAP
Northwestern lost to sixth-ranked Hawai'i, 3-0, on the final day of Aston's Imua Wahine Challenge in Honolulu. The Wildcats went 0-3 at the tournament and are now 0-7 on the season. Hawai'i improved to 6-0. Game scores at Hawai'i's Stan Sheriff Center were 15-7, 15-5, 15-0. Hawaii hit .313 as a team and was led by Lily Kahumoku, who had 13 kills. For Northwestern, Lindsay Pavlik (Laguna Beach, Calif./Mater Dei) was the only player with a double-figure kill total -- she had 10. Carmen Burbach (Columbus, Neb./Scotus Central Catholic) had seven kills and five digs, while Kelli Meyer (Madison, Wis./Edgewood) had 23 assists.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
The 'Cats host Towson, Buffalo, and Cleveland State this weekend in their home opener, the 17th annual Wildcat Classic Tournament. This year the event is being sponsored by Hampton Inn & Suites. The Towson Tigers enter the weekend 2-5 after falling to Cleveland State 3-0 last weekend. CSU is 4-3 entering the weekend, with its most recent win coming at the hands of Towson. Before that, the Vikings fell to Duke 3-0 at the Duke Classic. Buffalo enters the tournament 2-5, looking to snap a four-match losing streak. The Bulls latest loss was to Maryland-Baltimore County, 3-1, on Sept. 9 at the 2000 Orange Classic hosted by Syracuse University.
SERIES RECORDS
The Wildcats are 1-0 all-time against Cleveland State and Towson. The 'Cats met CSU in 1979, winning 15-10, 15-9. Towson and NU met in 1998, when the 'Cats won in three games (15-0, 15-0, 15-2). Northwestern and Buffalo have never met.
RETURN TO SENDER
After seven matches, it's clear that one of the strengths of the Wildcats will be their defense at the net. Freshman middle blocker Erika Lange leads NU with 32 total blocks, five of which are solo. Lange is averaging 1.28 blocks per game to rank fourth in the Big Ten. As a team, the Wildcats are averaging 2.4 blocks per game. Sophomore Sarah Ballog has tallied 26 blocks this season and freshman Lindsay Pavlik 17 to round out the top three.
MAKING HISTORY
Senior outside hitter Carmen Burbach (Columbus, Neb./Scotus Central Catholic) joined the prestigious 1,000 kill club in Hawii. Against Oregon, Burbach became the 15th Wildcat in history to reach the milestone with her fourth kill of the night, and she now has 1,017. Burbach is also on track to reach the 1,000-dig milestone as well. She is 131 digs away from the mark.
